Bolingbrook Man Killed By Deputy During Eviction

A hammer-wielding Bolingbrook man who was being evicted from his home Tuesday afternoon was fatally shot by a Will County deputy sheriff in what law enforcement officials called a justifiable act.

Jerome Keenan, 44, of 156 Springleaf Drive, was killed in front of his home after he shattered the windshield of a police car and was unable to be restrained by three officers, said Will County Sheriff Thomas Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald said that ``a hammer is definitely considered deadly force``

and that officers acted correctly ``by using deadly force to protect themselves and others from deadly force.``

Fitzgerald made the comment at a news conference in Joliet Tuesday evening to discuss the killing, which was the third fatal shooting by a Will County deputy in the last eight months. He did not release the name of officer who fired the shot.

Fitzgerald said that three deputies went to the home about 2:30 p.m. to serve eviction papers. He said Keenan finally emerged from the house after failing to answer repeated knocks on the door, and then used the hammer to smash the windshield of the police car parked on the street.

The sheriff described Keenan as being over 6 feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds. He said Keenan could not be restrained by the officers even after they used a stun gun. One deputy was slightly injured in the struggle.

It was then that a deputy shot Keenan once through the chest with a .357 Magnum revolver, Fitzgerald said.

The incident angered one neighbor, who described Keenan as ``my quiet neighbor Jerry`` who lived alone, was unemployed and was struggling to keep the three-bedroom ranch home.

``I`m very angry because I think it (the shooting) was totally unnecessary,`` said Debbie Halverson, who lived across the street from the Keenan home.

Halverson said she only heard the shots, but surmised that Keenan ``was obviously very distraught and went out with a hammer trying to scare off police.``

Halverson said that Keenan typically was ``mild-mannered, lived alone very quietly`` and had previously faced foreclosure notices.

Even after Keenan was shot, said Halverson, police waited nearly 30 minutes before entering the house ``very cautiously.``

After police entered the home, Halverson said she approached one officer and asked if she could call an ambulance to assist Keenan, but was rebuffed.

Keenan was pronounced dead on the scene by the Will County coroner`s office about one hour after the shooting.

Fitzgerald said that shortly after the shooting about 10 Bolingbrook police cars backed up the deputies, and that a Bolingbrook Fire Department ambulance crew was reluctant to enter a potentially dangerous area to attend to Keenan.